Actionstep, Clio, and Filevine are all cloud-based legal practice management platforms with trust accounting built in, but they differ sharply in pricing…
Best for: Midsize firms that want practice management and full back-office legal accounting, including North America-specific accounting, bundled together.
Subscription · From $49/user/month (EasyStart, billed annually)
Best for: Firms of any size, from solo practitioners to larger teams, that want transparent tiered pricing and the largest legal practice-management ecosystem.
Custom / Quote-based · From Custom pricing, contact sales
Best for: High-volume plaintiff-side firms and larger legal teams that want a firm-wide AI layer embedded across every matter rather than a single drafting feature.
At a Glance
Actionstep
Clio
Filevine
Primary category
Legal
Legal
Legal
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Subscription
Subscription
Custom / Quote-based
Starting price
Not documented
$49/user/month (EasyStart, billed annually)
Custom pricing, contact sales
Free plan
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Yes
Yes
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Web, iOS, Android
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Yes
Yes
Public API
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standout Differences
Only Publicly Priced Option
Clio publishes four tiered plans from $49 to $149 per user per month; Actionstep and Filevine both require a custom quote through a sales conversation.
Clio
Firm-Wide AI Built on a Legal Knowledge Graph
Filevine's LOIS assistant is built on a knowledge graph of more than 40 million matters and can draft documents, summarize depositions, and surface insights across an entire firm rather than a single case file.
Filevine
Bundled North America Legal Accounting
Actionstep offers a dedicated Legal Accounting module for North America firms, covering general ledger, bank reconciliation, and revenue recognition alongside practice management.
Actionstep
Trust Accounting Compliance Across All Three
Actionstep, Clio, and Filevine each build trust or IOLTA accounting compliance into their platforms, a requirement most general practice management tools do not handle.
Actionstep, Clio, Filevine
Feature-by-Feature
Pricing and Packaging
Feature
Actionstep
Clio
Filevine
Published self-serve pricing
Unavailable
Available
Unavailable
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Available
Core Practice Management
Feature
Actionstep
Clio
Filevine
Trust or IOLTA accounting
Available
Available
Available
Document automation and assembly
Available
Available
Available
Client intake tools
Available
Limited
Available
Native e-signature
Not documented
Available
Available
AI and Automation
Feature
Actionstep
Clio
Filevine
AI-assisted drafting or automation
Limited
Limited
Available
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Actionstep
Practice Management — Custom (per user + implementation fee) per user
Legal Accounting (North America only) — Custom (per user + implementation fee) per user
Clio
EasyStart — $49/user/month annual
Essentials — $89/user/month annual
Advanced — $119/user/month annual
Complete — $149/user/month annual
Filevine
Custom — Custom pricing Contact sales
Pros & Cons
Actionstep
Pros
Combines practice management and accounting (including trust accounting) in one platform
Supports a wide range of practice specialties (13+)
50+ integrations for connecting to other firm tools
Document automation module reduces manual drafting work
Cons
No public pricing — requires a sales conversation to get a quote
Legal Accounting module is limited to North America
Per-user plus implementation fee pricing can be less predictable than flat-tier SaaS pricing
Clio
Pros
Purpose-built trust accounting compliance features not found in general practice management tools.
Wide adoption (400,000+ legal professionals) and a large integration ecosystem.
Tiered pricing lets solo attorneys and larger firms both find an appropriate plan.
Companion products (Clio Grow) extend the platform into client intake without switching tools.
Cons
Pricing rises significantly between tiers, with AI drafting and full intake automation reserved for the top Complete tier.
Monthly (non-annual) billing carries a notable price premium over annual billing.
Additional costs such as payment processing fees and third-party integrations add to total cost of ownership.
Feature scope may be more than very small or informal legal practices need.
Filevine
Pros
AI (LOIS) is deeply embedded across the entire platform rather than offered as a separate bolt-on chat tool.
Strong reputation among reviewers, with roughly a 4.8/5 rating on G2 and 4.6/5 on Capterra.
Broad module coverage (intake through depositions to signatures) reduces the need for separate point solutions.
Backed by substantial, well-known venture investors (Insight Partners, Accel), suggesting long-term platform investment and stability.
Cons
No public pricing; firms must go through a sales process to get a quote, which can slow down evaluation.
Custom, quote-based pricing makes it harder to comparison-shop against flat-rate competitors like Clio or MyCase.
Deep, module-based platform can carry a steeper learning curve for very small or solo practices with simple needs.
Some customer feedback across review sources flags inconsistent support experiences.
Use Cases
Choose Actionstep: Midsize firms that want practice management and full back-office legal accounting, including North America-specific accounting, bundled together.
Choose Clio: Firms of any size, from solo practitioners to larger teams, that want transparent tiered pricing and the largest legal practice-management ecosystem.
Choose Filevine: High-volume plaintiff-side firms and larger legal teams that want a firm-wide AI layer embedded across every matter rather than a single drafting feature.
Actionstep
Unifying matter management and billing — Firms replace separate case-management and accounting tools with one connected system.
Client intake and onboarding — Firms use the client portal and intake forms to streamline bringing on new clients.
Document assembly at scale — Firms generate standard legal documents automatically from templates via Builder.
Clio
Solo attorney practice management — Solo practitioners use Clio's EasyStart plan for basic time tracking, billing, and trust accounting.
Growing multi-attorney firms — Established small-to-mid-size firms use Advanced or Complete for e-signatures, advanced reporting, and AI drafting.
Client intake automation — Firms use Clio Grow to capture and automate lead intake before matters are opened in Clio Manage.
Filevine
High-volume personal injury and mass tort practices — Firms managing large caseloads of similar matter types use Filevine's Matters and Intake modules alongside LOIS to standardize workflows and speed up case evaluation and document drafting.
Government legal offices — Prosecutors, public defenders, and state or local agencies use Filevine to manage case files, deadlines, and evidence collaboration across large teams of attorneys.
Corporate and Big Law legal departments — Larger legal teams use Filevine's document assembly, contract management, and API integrations to connect case data with existing accounting and business systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which of Actionstep, Clio, and Filevine has published pricing?
Only Clio publishes self-serve tiered pricing, from $49 per user per month (EasyStart) up to $149 per user per month (Complete). Actionstep and Filevine both require a sales conversation for a custom quote.
What is LOIS and how is it different from Clio's or Actionstep's AI features?
LOIS is Filevine's AI layer, built on a legal knowledge graph drawn from more than 40 million matters, and it works across an entire firm's matters rather than a single task. Clio's AI drafting is reserved for its top Complete plan, and Actionstep's AI features are described as AI-assisted time capture and document filing rather than a firm-wide reasoning layer.
Do all three support trust or IOLTA accounting?
Yes. Actionstep and Clio both build trust accounting directly into their billing modules, and Filevine supports trust accounting through its native LawPay integration.
Which tool is built specifically for high-volume plaintiff-side practices like personal injury?
Filevine has built particularly deep functionality for personal injury, mass torts, family law, and other high-volume plaintiff-side practice areas, alongside general practice management and government legal use cases.
Is there a free trial for any of these platforms?
Filevine offers a free trial before purchase. Trial availability for Actionstep and Clio is not documented in the available pricing data, so it's worth confirming directly with each vendor.